Covered top construction for desks and the like



Aug. 24, 1937. J. R. JONES 2,090,679

COVERED TOP CONSTRUCTION FOR DESKS AND THE LIKE Filed April 19, 1957 '2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTOJRN EYs J. R. JONES Aug. 24, 1937.

COVERED TOP CONSTRUCTION FOR DESKS AND THE LIKE Filed April 19, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR MUM BY E g la-(c r M ATTORNEYS Patented Aug.24, 1937 UNITED STATES covnnnn 'ror ooNs'rnUc'noN ronnnsxs AND rm; mm

James R. Jones, Jamestown, N. Y.. casino: to Art Metal ConstructionCompany, Jamestown,

Application April is, 1937, Serial No..137,810

Claim.

This invention relates to the construction of covered tops for desks,tables and other articles, and more particularly to improvements incovered tops for metal desks and other articles, in

5 which the metal top is provided with a surface 1sheet covering oflinoleum or other. suitable maerial. t

An object of the invention is to provide a top having a surface sheetcovering and which is of lfl'attractive appearance and of improvedpractical construction.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a top of improvedconstruction having rounded edges and corners and which has a surfacesheet covering with protected finished edges; which.

is of simple and durable construction; in which 7 the parts of thecovered top can be readily assembled and secured in place on the desk orother article with which the top is'to be used; the construction ofwhich facilitates the attachment of the top to the desk or otherarticle; and which has the other features of improvement and advantagehereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: I Fig. 1 is a plan view of a covered topfor a desk or the like embodying my invention, portions of the topcovering being partially broken away to show the underlying parts.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view of a corner portion of thetop with the end finishing strip or molding removed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional plan view of the top on line 3-3,Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, bottom plan view of the top.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical section of the top on line55, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical sec- 40 tion of the topand upper portion of its supporting structure, on line 66, Fig. 1, oneend thereof being shown in elevation.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, end elevation showing the top with the endfinishing strip removed.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8, Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a verticalsection through the end of the top on line 9-9, Fig. 3. Fig. 10 is aperspective view of one corner of the top with the end finishing strippartly broken 50 away tq show the corner construction of the top.

The covered metal top construction shown in the drawings as anembodiment of my invention, includes a metal core or top plate II whichmay be suitably stiffened or strengthened to 55 maintain it rigid orflat and prevent it from bending or sagging under weight or pressure.thereon, as by flanged metal ribs or stiffening elements extendinglongitudinally beneath and welded to the underside of the core plate.For this purpose, two intermediate, U-shaped ele- 5 ments I! are shownextending longitudinally of the top between its front and rear edges andhaving top flanges spot welded to the core plate, and longitudinalchannel bars. l3 arranged with their flanges extending. horizontallyinwardly of the top and with their top flanges spot welded to theunderside of the core plate adjacent its front and rear edges.

In the preferred. construction, the front and rear or longitudinal sideedge portions of the core plate are curved downwardly at H outwardlybeyond the stiffening elements l3, and the edges of the down curvedportions are bent to form inwardly extending horizontal flanges i5 atthe front and rear of the top,,and each of the opposite end portions ofthe core plate H is bent downwardly forming an upright edge or wall IS,the lower edge portion of which is bent to form an outwardly projectinghorizontal end flange l1. Thus, the core has rounded front and rearedges with inwardlyextending bottom faces or flanges l5 and abrupt orupright edge faces at its opposite ends with outwardly extending bottomflanges. In order to strengthen the metal top at its corners, a gussetplate i8 is preferably provided at each corner of the top and secured byspot welding to the end portions of the adjacent outwardly extending endflange l1 and inwardly extending front or rear edge flange I5 of thetop, as the case may be.

20 represents the non-metallic sheet material which covers the metalcore II and forms the upper or working surface of the top. This mayconsist of a sheet of linoleum or other covering. material which willgive the desired surface char- 40 acteristics and which may be cementedon the upper surface of the core as usual, to intimately unite the coversheet and core and insure a smooth or flat, upper surface for the top.The opposite end edges 2| of this cover sheet preferably terminate atthe upright end faces I 6 of the core, while the opposite longitudinalor front and rear marginal portions of the cover sheet extend downwardlyover the rounded side edges ll of the core, with the longitudinal edges22 of the cover sheet preferably terminating flush with the bottom facesof the rounded edges of the core. The cover sheet is thusa rectangularsheet or blank g which can be readily and economically cut to propersize to flt the core with the end edges of the cover sheet disposedapproximately at the vertical end faces of the core, and its side edgesat the bottoms of the rounded front and rear edges of the core.

5 At the side or front and rear edges of the top, the edges of the coversheet are preferably bound and protected by finishing strips 23 whichmay consist of metal angle strips, see Fig. 5, having narrow, verticalflanges engaging the outer faces 10 of the margins of the cover sheet,and horizontal flanges which extend inwardly beneath and may be securedto the under side of the core, as by small screws 24 with nuts, orscrewed into tapped holes in the bottom flanges I5 of the core.

15 Each end of the top is finished and the edge of the cover' sheetprotected by a finishing strip of molding 25. This is preferably a metalstrip having a transversely curved or rounded flange provided with adown-bent upper edge 26 which bears on the upper face of the cover sheetnear its edge, and a bottom flange 21 adapted to extend inwardly beneaththe out-turned bottom flange ll of the top core. The finishing strip 25may be secured in place in this position by fastening 25 tongues 28which are welded to the inner side of the strip and extend inwardlythrough slots 29 in the end walls l6 of the core and have their innerends bent over against the inner face of said end wall. The oppositeends 3|] of each 30 finishing strip 25 are preferably rounded or curvedboth horizontally and vertically so that when the finishing strip issecured in place, the inner edges of its rounded ends 30 will overlapand conform in curvature to the rounded or 35 curved front and rearmarginal portions ll of the cover sheet, and thus form rounded cornersfor the top. The longitudinal or front and rear finishing strips 22extend between and abut at their ends against the inner edges of therounded 40 ends of the finishing strips 25, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and4. The top thus has rounded side or front and rear edges and rounded endedges which are formed by the end finishing strips and which correspondsubstantially in curvature with the 45 rounded side edges, and thecorners also of the top are rounded in elevation as well as in plan.

The described construction makes possible a round cornered top having acovering of linoleum or other material of a. character which is not 50capable of being readily bent or molded to fit a rounded corner with asmooth, neat, finished appearance. No corner notching or special shapingof the cover sheet is necessary, but a simple rectangular blank or sheetwith straight 55 edges is employed.

It is desirable to secure the described top at its ends on the desk orother structure with which it is used, and for this purpose, theoutwardly extending end flanges ll of the core are prefer- 0 ably formedwith down-pressed bosses 3i adapted to bear on the supporting structureand be fastened thereto, as by screws 32 passing through elongated slotsin the bosses and *screwed in tapped holes in parts 33 of the supportingstructure, or by other suitable fastening means. These bosses3l provideshallow spaces or slits between the end flanges I! of the top and theparts 33 of the supporting structure to receive the inturned flanges ofthe end finishing strips 70 25, which are notched at 34 to straddle thedepressed bosses. The top can be secured in place on the supportingstructure by the bolts 32 before the end finishing strips are placed inposition. This facilitates the assembling operation and re- 75 duces thelabor of securing the top on the supporting structure, and after the tophas been secured in place, the end finishing strips can be readilyplaced in position by slipping their bottom flanges into the spacesbetween the end flanges l1 and the top of the supporting structure, andsecuring them in place by means of their fastening tongues 28.

The top may be additionally secured on the supporting structure in anysuitable manner, as for instance, by bolts connecting the top andstructure. 36, Fig. 6 represent two such bolts connecting the stifieningribs of the top to brackets on the supporting structure.

I claim as my invention:

1. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core havingopposite rounded side edges and opposite abrupt end edges, 8. coversheet covering the upper surface and the rounded side edges of the core,and transversely rounded finishing strips at the ends of the topextending out from the ends of the cover sheet and forming rounded endedges and rounded comers for the top.

2. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core havingopposite rounded side edges and opposite abrupt end edges, a cover sheetcovering the upper surface and the rounded side edges of the core and atits ends terminating short of the ends of the finished top, andfinishing strips at the ends of the top extending out from the ends ofthe cover sheet and having rounded side and end surfaces forming endedges and corners for the top rounded in substantial conformity withsaid rounded covered side edges.

3. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core having arounded side edge and an abrupt end edge, a cover sheet covering theupper surface and the rounded side edge of the core, and a finishingstrip at the end of the top extending out from the end of the coversheet and having rounded side and end surfaces and forming a rounded endedge and a rounded corner for the top joining said side and end edgesthereof.

4. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core platehaving a down-bent edge at one side of the top and a down-bent end andoutwardly projecting bottom flange at one end of the top, a cover sheetcovering the upper surface and the down-bent side edges of the coreplate, and a finishing strip at the end of the top extending out fromthe end of the cover sheet and covering said end and flange of the core,and forming a finished end edge for the top and a finished cornerjoining said side and end edges.

5. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core platehaving a down-bent rounded edge at one side of the top and a downbentend and outwardly projecting flange at one end of the top, a cover sheetcovering the upper surface and the rounded edge of the core plate, and atransversely rounded finishing strip at the end of the top extending outfrom the end of the cover sheet and covering said end flange of thecore, and having a rounded end forming a rounded corner for the top atthe juncture of said side and end edge thereof.

6. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core platehaving a down-bent rounded edge at one side of the top and a downaflange projecting inwardly beneath said flange 7 of the core plate andan upwardly and inwardly curved flange overhanging and bearing on theend edge portion of the cover sheet, and said finishing strip having arounded end forming a rounded corner for the top at the juncture of saidside and end edges thereof.

7. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core having arounded side edge, a cover sheet covering the upper surface and therounded edge of the core, transversely rounded end finishing strips atthe ends of the top extending out from the corresponding ends of thecover sheet and forming rounded end edges for the top and having roundedends engaging opposite ends of the rounded edge portion of the 25porting structure to secure said top in place, a

cover sheet on said core plate, and a finishing strip secured at theend. of the top and engaging the end edge of the cover sheet andcovering and hiding said bottom flange and its fastening means.

9. A covered top for desks and other articles comprising a core platehaving a down-bent end with an outwardly projecting bottom flange, asupporting structure for said top, means securing said bottom flange onsaid supporting structure to secure said top in place, a cover sheet onsaid core plate, and a finishing strip secured at the end of the top andengaging the end edge of the cover sheet and having a flange confinedbetween said supporting structure and said outwardly projecting bottomflange of the core plate and covering and hiding said bottom flange andsecuring means.

10. A covered top for desks a'nd'other articles comprising a core platehaving a down-bent end with an outwardly projecting bottom flange, asupporting structure, said bottom flange having depressed bosses bearingon' said supporting structure, fastenings at said bosses securing saidbottom flange on said supporting structure, a cover sheet on said coreplate, and a finishing strip engaging the end edge of the cover sheetand having a flange confined between said supporting structure and saidbottom flange of the core plate between said bosses.

JAMES R. JONES.

